worrywart
/ˈwʌɹ.ɪˌwɔːt/
"worrywart" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“worrywart” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who worries excessively, especially about unimportant matters.
Corpus desk
Index EN-worrywart · worrywart · English
worrywart · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | worrywart |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwʌɹ.ɪˌwɔːt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “worrywart” in English
Rare enough to double-check
worrywart is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈwʌɹ.ɪˌwɔːt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A person who worries excessively, especially about unimportant matters.".
No misspelling variants are generated for worrywart in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From worry + wart, apparently chosen for alliteration. Presumably related to earlier worryguts. Attested 1956, but earlier examples are found in newspapers of the 1930s and 1940s. The correct English form is worrywart, spelled W-O-R-R-Y-W-A-R-T.
Definition
- 1A person who worries excessively, especially about unimportant matters.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how worrywart appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It doesn't mean you're a worrywart, a nervous wreck or in need of heavy medication.
On vacation, I'm a worrywart for fretting about third-degree burns and puncture wounds.
Etymology
From worry + wart, apparently chosen for alliteration. Presumably related to earlier worryguts. Attested 1956, but earlier examples are found in newspapers of the 1930s and 1940s.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.